Look at these examples to see how used to, would and the past simple are used.
They used to live in London.
I didn't use to like olives.
We would always go to the seaside for our holidays.
But one holiday we went to the mountains instead.
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Grammar explanation
When we talk about things in the past that are not true any more, we can do it in different ways.
Used to + infinitive
We can use used to to talk about past states that are not true any more.
We used to live in New York when I was a kid.
There didn't use to be a supermarket there. When did it open?
Did you use to have a garden?
We can also use used to to talk about past habits (repeated past actions) that don't happen any more.
I used to go swimming every Thursday when I was at school.
She used to smoke but she gave up a few years ago.
used to + infinitive should not be confused with be/get used to + -ing, which has a different meaning. The difference is covered here.
Would
We can use would to talk about repeated past actions that don't happen any more.
Every Saturday I would go on a long bike ride.
My dad would read me amazing stories every night at bedtime.
would for past habits is slightly more formal than used to. It is often used in stories. We don't normally use the negative or question form of would for past habits. Note that we can't usually use would to talk about past states.
Past simple
We can always use the past simple as an alternative to used to or would to talk about past states or habits. The main difference is that the past simple doesn't emphasise the repeated or continuous nature of the action or situation. Also, the past simple doesn't make it so clear that the thing is no longer true.
We went to the same beach every summer.
We used to go to the same beach every summer.
We would go to the same beach every summer.
If something happened only once, we must use the past simple.
I went to Egypt in 2014.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello 👋
Infinitive,past simple, past participle, present simple and present participle are the same names as first form, second form and third form of verbs?
I mean what is the difference between first form of verb and infinitive, second form of verb and past simple and third form of verb and past participle?
Thanks.
Hello jassa,
The names we use to describe languages change over time as our understanding of the way languages work. If you go back hundreds of years you'll see a belief that certain languages (in Europe generally Greek and Latin) were 'better' than others, and that modern languages such as English, French and so on were degraded versions of these. Obviously we now know this to be entirely ahistorical but it influenced the way grammar was understood, including using terms which are suited to Latin, for example, but not really to modern English. A good example is 'gerund' and 'present participle'. Are these two distinct forms, or rather one form which has several uses? The majority of modern grammarians tend towards the latter view, so we prefer the term ing form.
It's similar with the terms you mentioned. The problem with using 'present simple', 'past simple' etc is that these forms are used in many ways which have nothing to do with present or past. The second form ('past simple') can have future meaning, for example, or describe present hypothetical situations, or simply show politeness. Thus modern grammarians prefer more neutral terms such as you describe in your question. The only mistake you made was that the third form in modern parlance relates to the traditional past participle, not present participle.
I hope that helps to clarify it for you.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you very much dear sir🙏👍
Just one more question🙋
1.'Go' is called the first form of verb,infinitive or base form of verb(go).
2.'Went' is called the second form of the verb or past simple form of the verb(go) .
3.'Gone' is called the third form of the verb or past participle of the verb(go)
4.'Go+es=goes' is called the present simple form of the verb(go)
5.'Go+ing=going' is called the present participle form of the verb(go).
A verb has above five forms.
Am I right?
Thanks🙏
Hello again jassa,
These are generally correct aside from the following:
#1 is the base form, not the first form.
#4 is the first form.
#5 is the ing-form.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thanks for the explanation dear sir.
But first form of the verb is not same as the base form of the verb or infinitive?🤔
Thanks
So the first form of the verb is not the same as the base form of the verb or infinitive? 🤔
Or then what is the difference between first form, base form and infinitive?
Thanks.
Hello jassa,
The base form/infinitive is a non-finite form, which means it is not marked for time or person. It can be used with 'to' or without 'to'. It is the form we use after modal verbs. Examples: be, go, look.
The first form is modified for the third-person. It is the form we use to make the present simple. Examples: am/is/are, go/goes, look/looks.
Please post each question once only. Repeat questions are simply deleted, which makes the process of publishing and replying slower.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Thank you dear sir.
Sorry replied the same question twice by mistake.
Hello,
I have difficulty in choosing the appropriate words for these two sentences:
1. That athlete __________ (have) difficulties getting picked for the team.
2. He __________ (work) as a journalist for a science magazine.
Could I use both "used to" and "would" to fill in? Are there any differences in their meanings?
Thanks in advance
Regards.
Hello Thu3009,
There are multiple answers possible for both sentences, so unless the rubric specifies 'used to' or 'would' then you could use present tenses, past tenses and so on. The context is very vague.
If we limit ourselves to 'used to' and 'would' with past meaning, then in both sentences only 'used to' is possible since 'have' and 'work for' are not actions but rather descriptions of states. Note that 'work for' here means 'have a job with' rather than 'do a task'.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team